North Carolina HB 1110: PFAS Studies.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 1110
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/19/26

Short Title: Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 30, 2026
*H1110-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM TO TEST THE USE OF DATA-DRIVEN 2
ATTENDANCE INTERVENTION SYSTEMS TO REDUCE CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. 3
Whereas, chronic absenteeism in North Carolina has reached approximately 25 4
percent of enrolled public school students, meaning one in four students misses at least 10 percent 5
of instructional days; and 6
Whereas, chronic absenteeism is a leading indicator of academic underperformance, 7
increased remediation costs, and reduced graduation rates; and 8
Whereas, early intervention and real-time attendance monitoring systems have 9
demonstrated measurable improvements in student attendance and reductions in chronic 10
absenteeism; and 11
Whereas, improving attendance increases the effective utilization of the State's per 12
pupil investment and reduces downstream costs associated with remediation, intervention 13
services, and dropout recovery; Now, therefore, 14
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 15
SECTION 1.(a) Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction shall establish the 16
Student Attendance Early Intervention Pilot Program (Program) to implement a data-driven 17
attendance intervention system in select public schools to reduce chronic absenteeism. The 18
Program shall prioritize implementation within a single public school unit to ensure fidelity of 19
implementation, clear accountability, and operational efficiency. The Program shall begin with 20
the 2026-2027 fiscal year and conclude with the 2027-2028 fiscal year. 21
SECTION 1.(b) Selection of Schools. – All public school units may apply to 22
participate in the Program. By September 1, 2026, the Department shall select one public school 23
unit, and the schools within that public school unit, that will participate in the Program in 24
accordance with the following: 25
(1) The Program shall cover no more than 15,000 students combined across all 26
selected schools. 27
(2) The schools selected shall demonstrate diversity in student demographics, 28
including socioeconomic status, geography, and school-level characteristics 29
sufficient to support a representative pilot. 30
(3) The Department shall prioritize selecting schools that have a chronic 31
absenteeism rate above the State average. 32
(4) The Department shall consider the public school unit's and schools' technical 33
readiness, staffing capacity, and ability to meet implementation time lines, 34
including coordination requirements necessary for successful Program 35
deployment. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1110-Second Edition
SECTION 1.(c) Selection of Vendor. – The Department shall select a vendor to work 1
with the schools in the Program. The vendor shall offer, within a unified, purpose-built, scalable 2
platform, a research-proven attendance intervention solution, including tiered evidence-based 3
workflows, automated bidirectional family engagement, longitudinal documentation of outreach 4
and supports, and statewide reporting and monitoring across selected schools. The Department 5
shall select a participating vendor by September 15, 2026. 6
SECTION 1.(d) Implementation Requirements. – Program implementation shall 7
align with the technical architecture of the selected solution, including integration with a single 8
student information system (SIS) in the participating public school unit. The selected public 9
school unit and schools shall work with the selected vendor to implement the Program beginning 10
no later than January 1, 2027. To implement the Program, the selected public school unit, schools, 11
and vendor shall work together to do all of the following: 12
(1) Designate a local program coordinator. 13
(2) Implement an attendance system that includes all of the following: 14
a. Real-time attendance monitoring and early warning indicators. 15
b. Automated, two-way communication with families, including 16
multilingual capability. 17
c. Intervention protocols aligned with a multitiered system of supports 18
(MTSS), including intervention workflows for at-risk students. 19
d. Data dashboards for educators and administrators. 20
e. Documentation and compliance tracking aligned with State attendance 21
policies. 22
f. Safeguards for data privacy in compliance with State and federal laws. 23
(3) Provide training to staff on system usage and intervention strategies. 24
SECTION 1.(e) Funding. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to the 25
Department of Public Instruction the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) in 26
nonrecurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to implement the Student Attendance Early 27
Intervention Pilot Program, as authorized by this act. The Department may either contract with a 28
selected vendor to pr